The Mule and the Lion

 One night the Lion was very hungry, but as the creatures of the wilderness¹ knew and feared him even from afar, he could not find food. So he went to visit the young Mule² that lived near the farmer's house, and when he saw him he smiled blandly³ and asked, "What do you eat, fair Lii, to make you so sleek⁴ and fat? What makes your hair so smooth and beautiful? I think your master gives you tender⁵ fresh grass and fat young pig to eat."

 

The Mule answered, "No, I am fat because I am gentle. My hair is beautiful because I do not fight with other creatures. But why do you come here, Sii? Are you hungry? I believe you are seeking for food."

 

The Lion said, "Oh, no, I am not hungry. I only walk around to get the cool, fresh air. And then the night is very beautiful. The moon hangs up in the clear sky with the stars and makes a soft light, and so I came to visit you. Would you not like to take a walk with me? I will take you to visit my friend, the Pig. I never go to his house alone; I always take a friend with me."

 

The Mule asked, "Shall we go to any other place?"

 

"Yes," answered the Lion, "I think we will go to visit another friend of mine who lives not far away."

 

Then the Mule asked his mother, "Will you allow me to go with Sii to see his friend?"

 

"Who is his friend?" asked the mother.

 

"The farmer's Pig." said the Mule.

 

"I think it is no harm if you go only there," said the mother Mule. "But you must not go anywhere else with Sii. The hunter is looking for him, I hear, and you must be careful. Do not trust him fully⁶, for I fear he will tempt⁷ you to go to some other place or into some wrong thing. If I allow you to go, you must come home before midnight. The moon will not be gone then and you can see to find your way."

 

So the Lion and the Mule went to visit the Pig, who lived in a house in the farmer's yard. But as soon as the Pig saw the Lion, he called out in a loud voice to his mother.

 

The Lion said, "He is afraid of me. I will hide and you may go in first."

 

When the Pig saw that the Mule was alone, he thought the Lion had gone.

He opened his door wide and was very friendly to the Mule, saying,

"Come in."

 

But the Lion jumped from his hiding place and caught the Pig as he came to the door. The Pig called to his mother in great fear, and the Mule begged the Lion, saying, "Let the poor little creature go free."

 

But the Lion said, "No, indeed; I have many Pigs at my house. It is better for him to go with me."

 

Then the Lion carried the Pig, while the Mule followed. Soon they came to where a fine looking dog lay on some hay⁸ behind a net. The Lion did not seem to see the net, for he dropped the Pig and tried to catch the Dog, who cried loudly for mercy⁹.

 

But the Lion said to the foolish Mule, "See how rude the Dog is to us.

We came to visit him and he makes a loud noise and tries to call the

hunter so that he will drive us away. I have never been so insulted¹⁰.

Come here, Lii-Tsze, at once and help me!"

 

The Mule went to the Lion and the net fell and caught them both. At sunrise the Hunter came and found the Mule and the Lion in his net. The Mule begged earnestly¹¹ and said, "Hunter, you know me and you know my mother. We are your friends and we do no wrong. Set me free, oh, hunter, set me free!"

 

The Hunter said, "No, I will not set you free. You may be good, but you are in bad company and must take what it brings. I will take you and the Lion both to the market place and sell you for silver. That is my right. I am a hunter. If you get in my net, that is your business. If I catch you, that is my business."

 

EE-SZE (Meaning): Bad company is a dangerous thing for man or beast.

1 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 mule   

n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人

参考例句：

• A mule is a cross between a mare and a donkey.骡子是母马和公驴的杂交后代。
• He is an old mule.他是个老顽固。

3 blandly   

adv.温和地，殷勤地

参考例句：

• There is a class of men in Bristol monstrously prejudiced against Blandly. 布里斯托尔有那么一帮人为此恨透了布兰德利。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• \"Maybe you could get something in the stage line?\" he blandly suggested. “也许你能在戏剧这一行里找些事做，\"他和蔼地提议道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

4 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

5 tender   

adj.嫩的，柔软的；脆弱的，纤细的；温柔的

参考例句：

• At the tender age of seventeen I left home.早在十七岁的小小年纪，我就离开了家。
• We were sent to boarding school at a tender age.很小的时候我们就被送到了寄宿学校。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 tempt   

vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣

参考例句：

• Nothing could tempt him to such a course of action.什么都不能诱使他去那样做。
• The fact that she had become wealthy did not tempt her to alter her frugal way of life.她有钱了，可这丝毫没能让她改变节俭的生活习惯。

8 hay   

n.(用作饲料或覆盖的)干草

参考例句：

• Cows feed on hay.奶牛以干草为生。
• They usually keep the hay in the barn.他们通常将干草存放在谷仓中。

9 mercy   

n.仁慈，宽恕，怜悯

参考例句：

• Mercy to the enemies means cruelty to the people.对敌人的仁慈就意味着对人民的残忍。
• It is a mercy that you did not go.你幸好没有去。

10 insulted   

侮辱，冒犯( insult的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I have never been so insulted in my life! 我一生中从未被如此侮辱过！
• These boys insulted a girl by spitting at her. 这几个男孩向一个女孩吐口水侮辱她。

11 earnestly   

adv．认真地

参考例句：

• The boy earnestly asked that his application be granted. 那孩子热切地要求批准他的申请。
• I earnestly wish I could have been present at the meeting yesterday. 我倒真愿意能参加昨天的会议。